1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to cleaning devices, and more specifically to a rack and pinion roller mop.
2. Description of Related Art
Wet mops have been used for many years to clean hard surface floors and related surfaces. While the liquid used with the mop may simply be water, oftentimes cleaning solutions are added to the water to facilitate the cleaning process. As the wet mop is pushed across a hard surface floor, dirt and other undesirable materials are loosened and retained in the wet mop material. Such material may be a sponge, strands of fiber, cloth, or the like. Once the wet mop material becomes full of such undesirables, a bucket of water, perhaps also containing cleaning solution, is typically used to rinse the wet mop material. During and after rinsing, it is desirable to wring out the wet mop material to remove dirt and liquid. There are several ways in which the wet mop may be wringed out. The wet mop material may be placed between two or more rollers that are in close proximity to each other and moved through these rollers in such a way that dirt and liquid are expelled. The entire mop head containing the wet mop material may also be folded or otherwise compressed together to remove dirt and liquid. These actions, while adequate for removing water and dirt from the mop head material, often require a fair amount of physical strength and dexterity. This makes many wet mops inconvenient for the elderly, those with limited physical strength or dexterity, those with physical disabilities, and the like.
What is needed is a wet mop with a mechanism that is easy to use.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a wet mop with a rack and pinion arrangement for easily moving the wet mop material between rollers. It is another object of the present invention to provide a wet mop with a rack and pinion arrangement that has a novel sponge head retention arrangement. It is another object of the present invention to provide a wet mop with a rack and pinion arrangement that has a novel pole and rack arrangement.
These and other objects of the present invention are not to be considered comprehensive or exhaustive, but rather, exemplary of objects that may be ascertained after reading this specification and claims with the accompanying drawings.